Koban: Conflict and Empire

Written by Stephen W. Bennett, narrated by Eric Michael Summerer.

Publisher’s Summary

The Galactic Federation is confronted by the vast and implacable Thandol Empire, which has coveted the former Krall region of space for eons, a region of space now occupied and claimed by the upstart Kobani. Outnumbered, they face an opponent who possesses new and deadly weapons. An enemy that had thousands of years to develop the means to take on the Krall Empire, and now present the supermen with a weapon that turns their greatest genetic asset into their greatest weakness. The new Federation must find a way to survive the most powerful threat yet to their existence. Once again, the Kobani are between a rock and a hard place, poised on the brink of death and destruction.

My Take

The Krall got their asses beat by the gene-modified humans of Koban while the Thandol Empire kept their heads down. Now the Thandol Empire wants to take on the “Galactic Federation” which is composed of all the old Krall subjugated species. Apparently they hadn’t paid close enough attention. Frankly I found this one installment in the series to be a bit rushed and short changed but I still enjoyed it. Four out of Five Space Opera geek points are thus awarded.

Expeditionary Force Books 1-3, Columbus Day, Spec. Ops and Paradise

Written by Craig Alanson and narrated by R. C. Bray.

Columbus Day

Publisher’s Summary

We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn’t win. And that was the good news.

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits.

When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved. The UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to fight the Ruhar wherever our new allies thought we could be useful. So, I went from fighting with the US Army in Nigeria to fighting in space. It was lies, all of it. We shouldn’t even be fighting the Ruhar; they aren’t our enemy. Our allies are.

I’d better start at the beginning.

My Take:

I enjoyed the hell out of Joe Bishops antics and Skippy the inconceivably ancient and powerful…beer can. Also converting a “Barney” themed ice cream truck into an improvised tactical vehicle is sheer genius. The excellent story crafting and R. C. Brays delivery had me laughing out loud at stop lights and driving to and from work. Five out of five enjoyment factor points are hereby awarded!!

Spec. Ops

Publisher’s Summary

Colonel Joe Bishop made a promise, and he’s going to keep it: taking the captured alien starship Flying Dutchman back out. He doesn’t agree when the UN decides to send almost 70 elite Special Operations troops, hotshot pilots, and scientists with him; the mission is a fool’s errand he doesn’t expect to ever return from. At least this time, the Earth is safe, right?

Not so much.

My Take:

It’s hilarious how the picture of future Earth, post contact, still has us at each other’s throats and ripe for domination. Joe is going to go back out on the Dutchman to fulfill his promise to Skippy but Earth thinks it is sending a team to figure out how to get the ship for Earth. Skippy isn’t having any of that and I think this was the volume where I heard something immensely profound “Hold my beer, watch this!”

Excellent sequel to Columbus Day, five out of five again!

Paradise

Publisher’s Summary

While the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman have been trying to assure people that hostile aliens do not have access to Earth, the UN Expeditionary Force has been stranded on the planet they nicknamed “Paradise”. The Flying Dutchman is headed back out on another mission, and the UN wants the ship to find out the status of the humans on Paradise. But Colonel Joe Bishop warns that they might not like what they find, and they can’t do anything about it without endangering Earth.

My Take:

This third time Bishop, Skippy and the Dutchman go out with an Austrian Overseer appointed by the UN to try and keep Impulsive actions under control. Oh he so doesn’t know what he’s in for in dealing with the Magnificent Skippy. Also in this one is the flawless deployment of a joke related to suspense… Three times enjoyed this series at a five out of five level, excellent work Mr.s Alanson and Bray.

The Phage War had been a devastating conflict for the Terran Confederacy. Even with the destruction of their terrifying, implacable foe, humanity is still reeling. Political alliances are crumbling, and their mighty fleet is in tatters. There is nothing to celebrate, even after such a complete victory.

They soon learn that there are other stellar neighbors – and they’ve been watching the conflict with great interest. One species comes with an offer of friendship and alliance, but humanity is weary and distrustful, their only interactions with aliens having resulted in the near eradication of their kind.

Before the ashes of war have been fully swept away, Captain Celesta Wright is dispatched to the Frontier with a small taskforce to investigate a mysterious signal while the Confederacy struggles to hold itself together. A partnership with this new species could help accelerate the recovery effort, but is the offer too good to be true? Can humanity risk another fight with an advanced alien species right on the heels of the bloodiest war that had ever been waged?

New Frontiers is the first book of the Expansion Wars Trilogy, an all-new adventure in the Black Fleet universe.

My Take:

This series follow on the heels of the Blackfleet Series which I will review later on. Captain Wright had been tasked with trying to track down an elusive new enemy to humans that not only have a technological edge but also a vehement hatred of humans.

I found the writing of the characters extremely well done and the action did not lag in building detail. Excellent book and a wonderful start to a new series. Five out of five geek score points!

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within.

Finally, the time has come.

But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied – and too glorious to surrender.

My Take.

This is definitely the culmination of the story. Darrow is sort of lost here and his friends have rescued him to assist in setting society to rights but there is a persistent problem. The jackal and the Queen are insane. That steerage coupled with the Moon-burning lords forces is going to lead to a lot of collateral damage but it can be done.

Absolutely enjoyed the series and I hope someday it comes to the screen. Five out of five for writing and narration.

Peter Fromm: After barely surviving the Battle of Kirosha, Captain Fromm and the rest of the 101st Marine Expeditionary Unit are sent forth to defend a vital star system. While the US Navy battles a vast alien armada in the skies above Parthenon, the Devil Dogs must fight a formidable, well-equipped army on the ground. Retreat is not an option.

Lisbeth Zhang: The former naval officer, once a rising star, faces the end of her career. She reluctantly accepts a new, secret posting, one that will turn her into an experimental subject in a covert weapons project that may save humanity – or spell its doom.

Heather McClintock: Being a CIA operative in a hostile galaxy is never easy. Out in the cold, with no support but her wits and skills, can she make a difference in the battles to come or just become another casualty?

The sequel to Decisively Engaged, No Price Too High is a tale of heroism and desperate combat in a hostile universe.

Errata: I accidentally called the secret US program that produced the War Eagle after the USS Lexington instead of the actual first vessel of its kind, the Langley. I have corrected the error in the manuscript and hopefully previous purchasers will have their ebooks updated. My apologies.
– C.J. Carella

My Take:

I enjoyed this and the first book immensely. The action stays moving, the discrepancy between older star-faring races tech and ours is believable and the idiotic politics of Earth trying to control colony worlds is nailed. Five out of five for plot and pace.

With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within.

A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart, Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s continuing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices.

My Take:

Darrow Al Andromedaus, the Red Hell Diver, who was carved into a Gold in Red Rising is trying his damnedest to win the trust of his benefactor Nero Augustus, the Arch Governor of Mars. The goal is to free the Reds and other low colors by breaking the Golds. The ups and downs of Darrow’s fates are enough to give me whiplash in this installment but the action kept me into it. A solar system Civil war is just the thing to…reach the goal? The story and performance were excellent. Five out of five entertainment units awarded and a laurel crown.

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it’s a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.

Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he’ll be switched off, and they’ll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.

The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad – very mad.

My Take:

Bob is a likeable guy who made money instead of doing what he really wanted to do…theoretical and practical physics. Well now his head has been thawed, his brain scanned and he is the software property of the Theocracy America turned into. Apparently not all of the Theocracy agrees that these von Neumann probes should be sent out into the Universe to procreate (or replicate) but all the kids are doing it so it’s GO TIME!

There are lots of places this story goes and most of the time it is snarky and humorous in it’s telling of horrendous things. I love this kind of story and the presenter is on the top of his game. Four out of five enjoyment points for both story and presentation.